This is my rendition of a bare metal texture for the Asobo / Aeroplane Heaven DC-3 in its cargo version, with fully reworked rivets and panel lines, including new Normal maps.
I was never happy with how the defaulf bare metal and normal maps looked, so I went and re-did it all.
The textures use a combination of the Albedo, Comp and Normal maps to create the desired effect. I went for a slightly weathered aluminium finish, not too polished and not too dull. 2K resolution to limit storage usage, and because the Normal Maps add a lot of weight to the folder.
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UPDATE July 2023 :
- Added Passenger version in both 'Classic' and 'Retrofit' options - NOW WORKING PROPERFLY HOPEFULLY !
- Removed warped rivets on the nose that appeared with the updated 3D model.
- Changed control surfaces material.
- Many small texture fixes and improvements around the wing roots and engines.
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DISCLAIMER :
The rivets and panel lines are not 100% correct, in fact they are plain wrong in some areas, but I think they are an improvement on the base template. I'm humbly submitting the results of many weeks of work in the hope that someone else might enjoy what I think is an enhancement on the original offering.
Note that the Normal Maps in this upload will most likely not line up with existing liveries, as the original model and textures had a nasty mis-alignment on one side of the fuselage, and many details were removed or added from scratch.
THANKS :
Massive thanks go out to Imenes, firstly for his incredible work on the Duckworks DC-3 project that has hugely enhanced the original aircraft (If you don't use it yet, you definitely should), but also for his kind technical pointers that kicked me down the rabbit hole and sent me down the path to this project. He opened Pandora's box for me, and what was supposed to be a couple of hours' fix turned into a months-long obsession. Thanks... I guess ;) :D
Please enjoy, feel free to use the files or part of them for your own projects, but please do not upload the files or any part of them to another website and please do not upload here without obtaining my consent first.
I am always open to constructive criticism, and this project probably has lots of room for improvement, so fire away !
Fly safe !
VonBarb, 2023.
1 months ago
gildednervous
9 months ago
kbbush
9 months ago
Paul_K
If i may suggest, modify and add the repaint from quantum of solace´s dc3, with the white cockpit panel, never found nothing like this
11 months ago
10 months ago
VonBarb
lovellj
Awesome work! Would be amazing to have it for the left passenger door model too.
1 years ago
TimHH
You did exactly what I did not had the courage to do.. and probably way better that I would have. Really good job, this is a very nice (and needed) addition to the DC-3 library.
1 years ago
falken444
I love this skin, my go to one from now on. Would love some of the PAX variants getting a matching one.
I'm getting an issue with two sets of rivets on the nose. The new ones from the base plane update and what I presume are the old normal maps from this livery?
https://gyazo.com/96a2f5ee9283817c248fa8df4c9cdb4e
1 years ago
I see the same thing with the nose rivets, since the latest DC-3 update. I hope it can be fixed, and maybe a slight reduction in the size of the rivet heads too. :)
1 years ago
Paul_K
Deathmaw
This looks amazing...bare metal is harder than you'd think to get right. Any chance you'd care to use this as a base for a United or American repaint? The current American ones don't do it for me as far as the bare metal is concerned...and United doesn't exist yet!
1 years ago
jonas_wikander
VonBarb - This truly is a work of art! Any chance to perform your magic on the older left and right passenger door models?
1 years ago
Thank you. Left side PAX door should be adaptable without too much trouble, however right side would first require extensive redesign of the Normal maps which is the most time-consuming step in the process, and I cannot make promises at this stage.
1 years ago
VonBarb
wackywings
Excellent Job! I know how hard and time consuming it is to get all three files just right! All of the control surfaces are Fabric Covered in real life, so those are a bit too shiny, but overall you've done a Great Job!
1 years ago
Thank you ! I've always really liked your own work, and your support is really appreciated. Control surfaces are one area I spent a lot of time tinkering with. In the end I went with a 'fresh metalic paint' effect, which I admit works better on the tail than the ailerons here. The idea was to get them to look like a different material while retaining consistency with the 'bare metal' look. Might have to fiddle around with it some more.
1 years ago
VonBarb
AIRPAC1
I wish we could see this for more vintage aircraft - pure unpainted bare metal. I think you've got the shine/reflection just right, too. Thanks again for doing this - I'm sure it will be the base of many repaints to come. 😊
1 years ago
Paul_K